Desperate times
by Tuvstarr's lost heart
Summary: Pirate AU. Desperation can drive you very far indeed, even so far as to kidnap a medic of the royal fleet.
1. First Meeting

_So… uh… this was supposed to be a tiny introduction fic of 500 words to fit in my one shot collection in which the young medic Yona meets pirate captain Hak, but then things kind of spiralled, oupps?_

 _Inspired by a picture of Hak in a pirate outfit I found by ogling AnY pictures. I am honestly not even sure of the OP, but still want to credit the cuteness. Plot borrowed from Pirate AU prompt: Pirates used to abduct useful sailors from other ships and combined with an episode from the TV series Firefly. _

_Still don't own AnY or anyone/anything related._

…

She growled at the pirate behind her as he gave her a push strong enough to force her off balance and clumsily fall forward. She could not catch her fall with wrists chained together by rusty handcuffs, and her knees scraped against the rough wood of the wet deck. She let out a hiss of pain and glared up at the brute with hatred in her eyes.

"The captain will see you now," he snickered before bowing down hastily, having been quieted by a frown from the man stepping out of the lower part of the ship and walking closer to the prisoner.

"I told you to treat the medic with respect, how dare you disobeying my order? Never mind, I'll deal with you later," a young man's voice barked out and Yona was surprised by the strength and authority it held.

She was a sorrowful sight and she knew it, short crimson hair a tangled sopping mess and her jacket and pants all but ripped apart by the thug that brought her here. She desperately hoped they were still holding up enough for her identity to be disguised. She did not want to think of what would happen to her if they figured out she was a woman. The simple uniform signalled her as a medic of the royal fleet and with her hair cut; people assumed she was just a really short guy. It had been necessary to keep up appearance to be able to study medicine and even more so when she received the position as medic assistant. Girls were not allowed to study or take up employment within the royal army.

Though it made little difference, she would never let the criminal in front of her know she was anything less than his utter superior in everything. She felt the man move closer until he stood right in front of her and only then did she lift her gaze to give him a piece of her mind and all but stopped breathing for a moment.

He was everything she had not expected.

Where she had been certain a filthy, slimy grin would plaster an ugly muck she found straight thin brows furrowed in concern, highlighting piercing cerulean eyes that seemed to tear into her soul. Dark locks hung loosely around his face, half covering his eyes and framing high cheekbones. His hair just reached the collar of his military jacket. His jacket was unhinged and hung limply around his torso, only partially covering a loose white half buttoned up shirt, revealing a muscular chest and faintly outlining a lean, taught frame. He wore a simple pendant which bounced lightly of his tanned chest as he moved. Two diagonal scars across his chest peeked out from his shirt and she could not help but wonder how he had acquired those, they were clearly running deep through his flesh and must have once caused great pain. It did little to take away his overall appearance though.

Overall, he was absolutely gorgeous.

The man they had given the infamous nick 'The Thunder Beast', Hak.

Captain of the most notorious band of pirates that roamed this part of the Pacific Ocean.

When he leaned down to offer her help to stand up she could have sworn she saw guilt glimmer in his gaze for a second before he slipped back in behind a concerned expression as he eyed the soaking wet boy in front of him.

She refused to accept his assistance and instead opted for pulling herself up into standing so that she could glare at him from an equal position. He was tall, much taller than she had imagined and despite her best intention, she still had to tilt her neck backwards to stare him in the eyes.

"Hi there kid," he greeted and bowed his head slightly in a sign of respect. "The name's Hak and I am the Captain of this ship. I am sorry for the way my men may have treated you. I will ensure you receive new clothes and better treatment in the future. If you would like to follow me I'll let you dry yourself and provide you with a change of clothes. We might not have anything that's up to your usual standards, but anything's better than being soaking wet, right?"

"I know who you are _Thunder Beast_. What makes you think I will follow you and your band of brutish pirates anywhere willingly?" She spat out, voice lased with venom and he sighed in response.

"I do realise how you feel about us, but I assure you medic, you are a medic right? While you are in my care, I will not let any harm come to you. See I need your help," he continued. That threw her off; she had assumed they had captured her to claim ransom; after all, medics were a rare and valuable asset to any ship.

"My help?" She could not help but let the question slip out. This conversation proved more and more unexpected the longer it continued, much like everything else about the person in front of her.

"Aye, your help," he nodded, gesturing for her to follow him under deck and when she trailed behind, really what other option did she have, he continued his explanation. "You see a boy in my crew is ill. He gets high fevers that last for days and lately they are occurring more often, and since the British Empire has monopoly on meds, I can't do much to help him."

He stopped walking and went quiet for a moment, lowering his gaze in hesitation before lifting it again and she felt her insides squirm when he once again focused that piercingly sharp gaze on her.

"Please help him. I beg you. I promise you I'll hold my word and let you free as soon as he gets better," and she could do nothing but nod her agreeance as they entered the cabin sheltering the ill boy.

…

"It's Malaria, I'm almost certain; though without the correct equipment I cannot be completely sure but he is exhibiting all the signs. You said this has been going on for months didn't you?" She asked and when he nodded, she continued. "Malaria is treated with quinine. If you let me go back to the royal fleet, I can get you the medicine and bring it back here."

"How can I trust you? For all I know you'd just return to your old life and never think of us again. That plan's unacceptable."

"So what do you propose then?" She grumbled, cursing inside as she saw the easy escape closing of in front of her.

"Easy," he grinned. "I'm coming with you."

"What? You're mad! That is impossible; you can't just board a Royal Navy ship. Your face is on every wanted poster in the entire empire! I can't be seen in your presence, they'll think I have joined your crew. I have every intention of getting back to my old life as soon as my promise is fulfilled and I cannot do that if they think I'm a deserter."

"So we'll just have to make sure I'm not seen," he remarked, the corners of his lips still pointing upwards in the most infuriating smirk.

She groaned, this was going to be the end of her.

…

As mad it had sounded when he first suggested it, once they sat down and began rough sketching the plan, all the pieces of the puzzle slowly came together. They were not going to sneak back onto the ship where she had been previously deployed, everybody knew her there and it would have been suicide to even try it. Not to mention Hak's pirates had already raided it once when they kidnapped her. Rather, they chose to head to the British Empires headquarters on the island of New Britain. She had never been there and therefore no one would recognise her, but the old uniform, stitched up and washed, and her knowledge about the organisation would come in handy when they bluffed their way into the infirmary and medicine stash. The hardest part of the plan proved to find the opportunity to put it into action. It had to be on a day when it would be mostly deserted, to avoid running into the brunt of security and reduce the risk of recognition; there was always a chance that someone she knew would have been deployed as the headquarters.

As the days slowly turned into weeks while they waited for the right moment to set their plan in motion, she unknowingly started becoming more and more accustomed to life about the pirate ship. The boy, Tae-Yeon recuperated and re-joined the others in the everyday life and chores on board the ship. Yona soon learnt that he was like an adopted little brother to the captain and very much liked by everybody on the ship. He was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise brutish and rough crew, always helping wherever he could with a gentle smile on his face. She noted the whole ship tensing up when he once again fell ill, especially the captain. Ordinarily he would participate in all the chores and pull his weight equally to anyone else on the ship, no matter if it was scrubbing the deck or peeling potatoes. However, whenever Tae-Yeon was ill, he would just hover around the sickbay, not eating and not sleeping and she found him more than once next to his little brother's cot for hours at end, unwilling to leave his side even though there was not much he could do for him.

She tried to keep to herself when she was not busy caring for Tae-Yeon and not get close to anyone, _especially_ not a certain tall, annoying, brutish, handsome captain with eyes like the sea on a clear day, but the ship was only so big and she kept running into him wherever she turned.

It was incredibly infuriating. Just like him.

…

It was the day before they would put the mad plan into action. She was under deck caring for Tae-Yeon when he entered. Pretending not to notice him, she busied herself with replacing the wet cloth on the youth's sweaty forehead while the tall man stepped inside. He moved closer to the cot and crossed his arms, silently observing the medic while she continued her administrations. It was unnerving to have him quietly staring at her and while it was not uncommon for him to do so, it still made her uncomfortable enough to try to ignore his presence. Then, when he stepped closer and kneeled down next to the cot to cover the young boy's trembling hand in his own, a deep frown donning his forehead, she had enough.

"I don't understand you," she blurted out. While you're certainly crude and brutish enough, your speech and the way you hold yourself suggests noble birth. I assume that's not so easy to shake. You are clearly different from the rest of your crew and the other thugs, but yet here you are: the leader of a bunch of criminals who's doing nothing but pillage and rape."

"Actually, it isn't noble birth, but noble upbringing," he corrected casually, chuckling at the not so carefully wrapped insults she threw at him, and when she looked up at the taller man nonplussed, he just shrugged at her confused expression.

"I wasn't born a noble, I'm an orphan, Son Mundok took me in when I was little, old enough to walk but not talk, and gave me the name Son, and as for the part of why I'm here? I was framed, for a political murder to be more exact… To avoid getting my family entangled in the political mess I gave up the name and left them."

Here the raven haired man made a short pause in his explanation, absently rubbing the scars on his chest. He seemed lost in deep thought for a moment before pulling himself out of his reverie and turning to face the young boy again. When his dark voice once again filled the silence, Yona almost jumped.

"What else could I have done?" He questioned rhetorically. "As a wanted man there was nothing left for me than to take up piracy. The British Empire has long arms and just fleeing the country would not have helped much. Furthermore," he continued, looking her straight in the eyes. "There is no molesting of any kind occurring on my ship since I became captain. I have ensured that. Yes we are pirates, we smuggle and sometimes we raid the British Empires' gold filled merchant ships. But we are not stealing from poor farmers or raping young girls like you.

Yona froze. How could he? There was no way, she had been so cautious. No one in the entire royal army even suspected it and here he…

"I, I don't know what you are talking about," she stammered out, at which he just snorted.

"Yeah right. Hey, it's none of my business, as long as you can help Tae-Yeon I don't care. Buuut… if you want to keep up the charade, let me suggest a harder wrapping. What you are using now, well they might have worked when you were younger but now, it's becoming more and more obvious every day…

She felt her cheeks flush and stuttered something about uncouth barbarians while he smirked and returned his focus on the shivering child.

"And what about you? How come a young lady pretends to be a man, join the navy and make a living by stitching up soldiers?"

She did not warrant the question any attention. It was none of his business.

"What, you get to ask about my life story and I don't get anything in return? That's hardly fair is it?"

"Fair would be not to abduct me in the first place," she retorted fuming. How dare he come and speak of fairness while taking her away from her life without a seconds' thought about it? Though the witty remark she had learnt to expect never came. Instead he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply.

"I had no choice, Tae-Yeon was getting worse and I was desperate. I don't expect you to ever understand or forgive, but know that I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess."

The honest admission sent a pang of sympathy through her chest and the conversation died out after that as the young medic found herself at a loss for the right words to answer him with. He had lost so much and he simply wanted to protect those that were dear to him. The more she learnt about this ruffian of the seas, the more intrigued she could not help herself become.


	2. The Mission

Yona could not tell if it was irony or fate's fault that she ended up here, so she blamed both. Standing here on what were supposed to be her turf, even though she had never set foot here before today, just barely holding up a badly wounded pirate captain and facing the one person she never thought she would see again, Soowoon.

"Yona, what are you doing here? How are you even alive? And is that Hak? What are you two doing together?"

"Soowoon." The name was voiced simultaneously from two different throats and for a moment the pirate and the medic stared at each other in surprise, how could the other know the current prince of the British Empire? She knew why she was familiar with him, intimately. They had been close when they were little, growing up in the palace as cousins and spending most of their childhood together.

That was before his father usurped the throne from her father eight years ago though. When her father was killed she had run for her life, gone into hiding and been adopted by a kind doctor, Ik-Soo. As the years had gone by she had resettled into her new life and he had taught her everything he knew about modern medicine and made sure that she had been able to study medicine at the university. Though she would never forget what had happened, the man she held responsible and his son, whom she used to play hide and seek with when they were small.

What in the name of his almighty holiness was _he_ doing here? Last she heard he was leading his troops into yet another battle with the Franks.

...

The mission had started off pretty well. Instead of trying to sneak into the heavily guarded fortress, they had waltzed in through the front door: her in her old medic uniform and Hak in a similar 'borrowed' suit. They had wrapped his head and his face partially in gauze to conceal his features from nosy, curious looks and to give themselves a reason to enter the infirmary without being asked to do something else on the way. She showed her identification papers, they told the admin staff about the imaginary burn Hak had received from accidentally tripping over a raised heater filled with hot coal, and they were let through. -Oh how Hak had grumbled over that part, apparently the proud captain did not like the idea of being seen as clumsy. Even if it was for the sake of the plan, but she had persisted. Pointing out that it was way to risky to enter the fort without anything to cover his face and how else would he have gotten hurt? In battle? As a medic? Highly unlikely... eventually he had reluctantly agreed, under protest.- It had worked too, she smugly thought to herself. No one even asked for the fake ID they had conjured for Hak.

Well there they had quickly sneaked into the medication storage room and she had grabbed the needed bottle while Hak stood guard. When she exited the room though, Hak made a sign for her to wait for him while he went back in, pulled out a travel bag and started loading it and his pockets with gauze, disinfectant alcohol, painkillers and anything else he could decipher and thought could be of use to the crew on the ship. It was not every day you ran into a virtual goldmine like the medicine cabinet of the royal fleet and he was determined to make the most out of it. Yona, wild eyed, tried to mouth to him to stop the plunder and get out, they had what they came for and she was _not_ comfortable with stealing just for the hell of it. To no avail, he turned a blind eye to her frantic gesturing and filled his pockets to the brim.

Once Hak was satisfied with the spoils of his impromptu raid, and his pockets couldn't hold another pill, they left the infirmary and headed towards the main entrance of the building, still unrecognised, at least until they reached the gate.

Thinking back at it, stopping to plunder the storage room was probably what doomed them and led to this fated encounter. If they had left as soon as Yona had picked up the quinine, or even just a few short seconds earlier, then Soowoon probably would have missed them as he had, after all, seemingly just got off his shift and was heading out into the town in civilian clothes when they ran into him at the gate of the fort.

Yona noticed him first. Her eyes widened and her heart raced. It could not be: he could not be here! Why was he here? Crap, he noticed her staring. She quickly lowered her gaze and quickened her pace.

They were so close. They had agreed to part ways as they reached the gate. He would move on back to his escape boat that would take him back to his ship and she would return to the headquarters, explaining that she had been kidnapped and managed to escape on her own. She would finally be able to go back to her old life.

"Yona?"

'Crap crap crap crap'. Yona sped up her pace; dragging Hak along with her by the sleeve of his uniform, but it was too late.

"Guards, stop those two!"

"Yes, sire."

...

And now they were here: surrounded by soldiers with Prince Soowoon in the middle. Hak quickly bleeding out from a gun wound in his side he got from shielding her from the first round of bullets the guards had fired before Soowoon ordered them to stop. Him barely standing and her staggering under his weight. As medics never carry weapons themselves, they had entered the fort defenseless and completely reliant on not being recognised. Now she vexed at the circumstances that led to this moment.

Then, quicker than she could grasp, she found herself losing her extra burden as Hak pulled away and spun her around to hold her in front of himself like a shield, with a knife to her neck. When did he pull that? Where did he even get it? She had been adamant that no weapons could be brought into the fort but he must have hid it from her from the start.

"Let us through, the boy's my hostage, I'll slice his throat if you get any closer," Hak growled warningly, staring Soowoon straight in the eyes, daring him pick up the challenge.

"Hak, I know you, you would never kill a defenceless kid. You protected her, or is it him now? Just a moment ago. Put down your weapon."

"Never, I'll never give in to you. I'll never yield to an usurper," he growled back, putting heavy emphasis on the last word and lacing it with bitter venom.

"Me? You are the king killer are you not? My father simply stepped in as the new king after you killed King Il and went into hiding. Furthermore, while we are on the subject of royalty, do you even know who you have at the tip of your knife?" Soowoon asked casually, but his opponent didn't take the bait.

"Bastard, we both know what really happened," Hak bit back, steadfast and unwavering but Yona could feel her uniform getting wetter where her back pressed against his wound and she knew he could not keep it up much longer.

She had to do something. So she did the only thing she could think of:

She faked a dizzy spell and pretended to faint.

With that she could allow him to handle her more easily and not struggle against his grip while still acting convincingly. When he felt her leaning more heavily against him he pulled her up closer and once again demanded a free escape. The soldiers looked at each other hesitantly before looking up at their commander for directions.

"Let them through," the prince eventually offered. His eyes revealing nothing of what he was thinking.

"But, sire… it's the Thunder beast, the most wanted man in the entire empire.

"I said let them through, we'll catch him another time."

"Yes sire."

They ran.

Once he reversed them both through the gate and they had gotten out of sight from the fort, they ran as quick as they could. Her smaller frame supporting his larger the best she could as he staggered down the sandy path to where they had hid their escape boat. She guided him into the little skiffle and gently eased him into a laying down position on the small wooden floor. Worriedly noting how pale he was and that he barely seemed to hold on to consciousness as she pushed them out of the bay and began to row towards where the main ship was waiting. The sprint must have sucked the last of his energy out of him. She desperately hoped the bullet had missed the vital organs but she could not be sure until they got back to the main ship and she could have a proper look.

Her muscles ached from the rowing, holiness, it was heavier than it looked, when he opened his eyes and looked at her.

Biting through the pain he slowly propped himself up on his elbow. With one hand firmly planted on the wound to apply pressure and his face still scrounged up in pain, he forced out the question through clenched teeth that had been on his lips since the gate.

"Why?"

"Huh, why what? Bit busy over here trying to get your sorry butt back to the ship and make sure you don't bleed to death," she muttered before instructing the wounded pirate to be quiet, lie down again and keep applying pressure on the wound. She was not in the mood for one of his annoying interrogation sessions right now.

"Why are you helping me? You could have ditched me at any time. Getting me back to the ship was never a part of the plan," he breathed out, blatantly disregarding her prior order.

"Oh that, well I'm not a monster for one thing. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have made it out of the fort alive, you needed me. Secondly, I'm not a huge fan of the prince myself. I'm probably safer on the pirate ship than I am with him," she explained. Then she stopped for a moment before continuing in a softer, more thoughtful tone. "Besides, you saved my life first. You didn't have to cover me. Why did you?"

The pirate just snorted, then winched slightly. "Really, did you think I'd just let you get shot right in front of me? After everything you have done for my crew and Tae-Yeon?"

"Most men would," she answered, almost dejectedly, but he only threw her a sidelong glance before closing his eyes and lying down again.

"Yeah, well. I'm not like most guys then." Then he cracked one open again and turned to her. "And neither are you, Princess. I knew you had an interesting back story, though I have to admit I never would've guessed…"

"Wha? No, I have no idea of what you are talking about. I told you, I'm Yoon and I am a medic at the royal fleet."

"Mhm, tell that to the mermai-'"

"We are here now," she interjected. She was not keen on delving into her back story and it was true, they rounded a small bay and the main ship came within sight. With a few more forceful movements of the oar she pulled them up against the side of the ship. Just in time too, judging by how clammy Hak's skin felt when she helped him stand, how he swayed with the movements of the skiffle and would have toppled over had she not caught him, and how pale he was. She didn't think he'd be able to cope much longer without medical attention.

Then the other ship came within sight.

* * *

 _So, to set things straight: some parts I have borrowed from canon, some I have tweaked, and some are completely new. I hope it is still enjoyable and not too confusing to follow, especially since I did a couple of scene jumps in this chapter._


End file.
